Firefighters in training

Two Mishawaka recruits beginning new careers

Two Mishawaka recruits beginning new careers

February 22, 2006|PABLO ROS Tribune Staff Writer

It's the beginning of what they hope will be a long career. Wearing navy blue pants and Mishawaka Fire Department T-shirts, Kevin Gnivecki, 23, and Lane Detweiler, 25, are undergoing 40 hours of firefighting training a week in hopes of meeting the required 189. Then they'll spend a whole year as probationary firefighters. Green lockers topped with yellow hats and American flags here and there line a wall inside the station on Union Street where at least two firetrucks and other motorized vehicles are kept. On a recent weekday, Capt. Jim Cocquyt takes the rookies through the use of gadgets, switches and fixtures in the red-and-white trucks and rescue boats, pointing out weekly duties like oil changes. Gnivecki, a third-generation Mishawaka firefighter, and Detweiler, educated as a policeman, listen quietly. Cocquyt is meticulous about the equipment use, then sums up. "Your job for the first year," he said, "as you're watching, is to jump in and learn." For a full year, Gnivecki and Detweiler will be probationary members of the department before receiving a ranking of EMT basics and firefighter 1 and 2 certified, Cocquyt said. During a short break in the training, Detweiler, a Goshen native, said he opted to become a firefighter instead of a police officer because the camaraderie between firefighters appealed to him. He said he looked forward to spending more time with fellow firefighters. Gnivecki, a third-generation firefighter, said he always knew he would join the department. "Just for the tradition of the family," he said. "It's something I really wanted to get into." After six weeks of formal training, Gnivecki and Detweiler will slowly begin to take more active roles in emergency situations. They are two of seven firefighters hired in the past 13 months. Cocquyt said the department, which counts 108 firefighters, must maintain a minimum of 23 firefighters on duty at all times. Many firefighters have continued to receive more advanced training. "There's a lot of peer pressure in gaining knowledge," Cocquyt said. Among those who have received more advanced training is Derron Hess, 34. Hess spent four months becoming an advanced EMT-certified firefighter because, he said, as the city keeps growing, more and more calls are becoming medical emergencies. As an advanced EMT, Hess said he can administer more advanced medical treatment on scene, an advantage that supersedes waiting for paramedics. More firefighters are now going beyond advanced EMT training to become paramedics. Cocquyt said two Mishawaka firefighters are currently undergoing such training. "It's a huge commitment," he said. For 1 1/2 years you must put everything else on hold, said Kerry Hershberger, 45. He is a civilian firefighter and a paramedic. At Elkhart General and Goshen General hospitals, Hershberger trains firefighters who wish to become paramedics. The course, he said, is from 1,800 to 2,200 hours and takes a minimum of 14 months to complete. The Mishawaka Fire Department now has 17 paramedics. Staff writer Pablo Ros: pros@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6555